A Dream of Dragons: Game of the Year
by KaliYugaFan
Summary: THE REBOOT, BABY. When 7-year old Issei, distraught after his friend Irina moves, visits a mysterious video game store, his whole life is re-written, and the Supernatural World is changed immeasurably. Gamer!Issei, Still-perverted-but-not-a-total-loser!Issei, the usual harem shenanigans, and more Power Creep than you can shake a stick at.
1. Gamers Rising Up (Ch1)

A/N: I'm Baaaaaaaack! Decided to reboot this story, first chapter is pretty much just the prologue of the original, but with the first "real" chapter added on and heavily edited! And yeah, I'm several months late, I know. Old story is up, in case you, for whatever ungodly reason, still want to read it. New chapters, new direction for this story, new(ish) system, and a new commitment to writing again. Again, really sorry for the wait, lads. This chapter in particular is not very different at all from the original, though I've added a bit of action to it and changed around many of the technical aspects of the Gamer system as well.

Original A/N: Joining the **long** list of people who have done Gamer!Issei fics, hopefully I can do the trope justice! You can expect this to be fairly lighthearted as far as the story goes, I'm slowly training myself to not instinctively tread into grim-dark territory haha. The Gamer system won't be a Sacred Gear or anything like that, he'll still have the trusty Boosted Gear and Ddraig with him every step of the way. Just a little short chapter to start things out, let me know what you think!

* * *

Issei Hyoudou was a perfectly normal, if somewhat innocent, seven year old boy. He loved, in order, his parents, playing in the park, his recently-relocated and totally male best friend Rin, and the thought of being a hero. However, there was one thing that separated the otherwise ordinary boy from his peers. In the wake of his best friend leaving to England seven months prior, the usually quite happy young boy had been extremely distraught. On an average day, he would have left for the local park in his home town of Kuoh, Japan to play with his peers. On this particular day, he would have borne witness to a certain old man who would have opened his eyes to the beauty of the female form. Going to the park on this fateful day would have changed young Issei Hyoudou's whole life, leading him down a road of isolation due to his perversity that would have resulted in his untimely, albeit temporary, death nearly a decade later.

On this particular day, little seven year old Issei Hyoudou did not go to the park. Instead, the young boy sat in his room by himself, the door having been shut the moment he had come home from school. Issei was as lonely as he had ever felt, and it was rather obvious to his parents that something had to be done to get their precious son out of his rut.

Miki Hyoudou was a woman approaching forty years of age, though her ever-present smile and well-kept figure would have certainly hidden that fact well. She and her husband Gorou had tried to have a child twice before Issei, both times having resulted in a heart-breaking miscarriage for the couple. During the third pregnancy, the Hyoudou's had been so tense and scared that Gorou paced in front of a Shinto shrine, praying for the healthy birth of their child. In response to their prayers, Issei Hyoudou had been born healthy and hale in the middle of a thunderous April storm, named in honor of the honesty of Gorou's prayers to the Gods of Takamagahara.

On this particular day, Miki Hyoudou was not smiling, and she certainly felt every one of her thirty-some years. Her baby was clearly depressed, and nothing could possibly stop the stubborn mother from attempting to fix it. Gorou was still at his job, having worked at the same accounting firm since she had met the man. He made a comfortable living, and provided everything that the small family of three could ever want, but sometimes Miki wished he could take a step back from his corporate life and spend more time with their son.

Hearing his mother's gentle knocking at the door, Issei sat up, taking his head out of his hands. "Can I come in, sweetie?" His mother was clearly concerned for him, and for a moment Issei felt a stab of regret; his sadness was no reason to upset his darling mother. Instead of answering, the young boy stood from his bed, walking across the room to open his door and flinging himself at Miki in as powerful a hug as his little seven year old arms could manage.

Though he was too buried in her arms to see it, Miki smiled radiantly, silently stroking her son's hair as she waddled with him still attached to her chest back to their bed. Taking a seat, she stared at her young son, conveying as much love and trust as she possibly could without speaking. Issei picked up on the message, snuggling back into her arms as he began to cry.

"It'll be alright, sweetie. I know you're upset that Irina left, but I promise you it'll be okay." She whispered softly to him, still holding onto Issei. The young boy mumbled something into her chest that she couldn't quite hear, so she gently pushed him away, looking at him expectantly.

"It hurts, mom." Oh, her sweet, innocent child. Miki framed his face in her hands, pulling him back in and planting a loving kiss on his forehead. "I know it hurts, Issei. Seeing our friends go always hurts, but one day you and Irina will be all grown up, and I'm sure you can see each other again, okay?" Her tone was as gentle as always, calming down the despondent young boy in her arms.

"I know what we can do to cheer you up, sweetie. Go put on your jacket and your shoes, let's go to the mall." At this, Issei perked up slightly, wiping away some of the snot and tears with an errant swipe of his long-sleeved shirt that had Miki groaning in exasperation. At a pace that beggared belief, the young boy swept around his room like a whirlwind, picking out a red rain-jacket to throw over his black tee shirt and putting on the same pair of well-worn Adidas sneakers that had seen so much action in the local park.

"I'm ready, mom!" He nearly shouted, having gone from sobbing to fully dressed in under a minute, as most children are wont to do. Miki simply chuckled, fixing her son's slightly askew collar and zipping up his jacket all the way. The two walked out of the young boy's room as Miki grabbed her keys. Entering the attached garage next to their home, Miki and Issei got into the family's trusty Toyota, and after a moment to check the gas, the two were off to the Kuoh Mall.

The mall was rather vacant for a Friday afternoon, with only a few dozen people loitering around and perusing the various shops. The mother and son moved at a brisk pace, Issei's much-shorter legs pumping furiously as they made their way to their destination.

It was a local game store, tucked away between a McRonald's and a furniture store. There were other stores in Kuoh, many belonging to larger brands, but for as long as Issei could remember, something simply felt **right **about going to this particular video game store. The bell rang as they opened the door, and an incredibly tall man greeted them at the polished wooden counter. He wore a comfortable set of dark brown slacks, as well as a slightly wrinkled white dress shirt and matching brown vest. His hair was of a medium length, an untamed mane of dark brown hair with a golden fringe of bangs. The man was smiling kindly, greeting the two as they walked in.

"Welcome to Scapegoat Games, what can I get for you two?"

* * *

**2003 **

"Your friends are here, sweetie!" Miki Hyoudou called out from the kitchen where she was preparing dinner for the Hyoudou household. Issei, having clearly heard his mother, raced down the stairs in a whirlwind, rapidly pulling a sweater over his lean frame to ward off the autumn chill. It was still September in Kuoh, but already the winter winds could be felt rolling into town, and within a few months Issei was positive that his home would be blanketed in white. His mother simply smiled fondly at him, pulling him aside as he lunged to the door to plant a loving kiss on his forehead. "Gah, mom, I'm 12! Stop it!" The pre-teen whined, trying in vain to pull himself free from Miki. "You can be 12 or a hundred years old but you're still going to be my baby boy, mister!" She chided playfully, handing Issei a small sandwich as she finally let him out the door. "And don't be too late out with your friends, sweetie! Back before dark, okay?" Issei turned back, the sandwich already half gone, crumbs adorning his mouth. "Got it!" He managed to affirm with a mouth full of bread, somehow.

Standing a short distance outside the door of the Hyoudou residence were Issei's two best friends at Kuoh Middle School, Matsuda and Motohama. The three had met in elementary when they were all eight years old, and since then had become as thick as thieves, much to the dismay of Kuoh's adult populace. Matsuda was slightly taller than the other two, clad in a well-fitting Adidas tracksuit and a running cap over his perpetually-shaved head. At his side, he had a tightly cinched backpack, full of water bottles and nutritious snacks. The bald teen was a rising star in track and field, having already broken a number of sprinting records in the middle school division. Motohama was the shortest of the trio, dressed in a white polo, dark slacks and the same glasses that Issei was fully convinced he had been born wearing. He was the smartest of the group, having already tested his way into acceptance at some of the nearby private academies in Japan.

The two quickly made their way to Issei, meeting him in the middle as the group quickly went off at a brisk pace to the Mall. Normally, it would have taken a solid hour of walking to reach the Kuoh Plaza where the trio always hung out, but Matsuda's slavish devotion to his sport had worn off (in part) to the other two, and the group were able to make their way to the shopping center in nearly half that time. Motohama and Issei paused, hunched over with their hands on their knees as they took in as much air as possible. Matsuda, for his part, was seemingly unaffected, still standing straight as he took a long drink from his water bottle. "You two gotta keep up! I almost had to slow down to a jog a few times there, guys!" He whined, dutifully ignoring the looks of absolute loathing his two best friends were giving off.

"Huff.. See who's slow when I... huff... jam my sneakers up your... huff... ass." Issei rasped, his death threat clearly not as effective given his current total lack of breath. Matsuda simply chuckled, tossing another water bottle and two small towels from his backpack to Issei and Motohama, who took the towels gratefully and gulped down the bottle in a few seconds. Once the less athletically freakish pair were sufficiently rested, the three took off, stuffing the towels back into Matsuda's backpack as they made their way to the spot they had been meeting after school for years.

Scapegoat Games had changed drastically in the five years since Issei had first gone to the store with his mother. The hardwood floor and well-worn counter-top had been replaced with stylish carpeting and a large counter-top of stone with various stools. All across the store, Issei could see massive TV screens, hooked up to the latest video game consoles. There were sets of comfortable couches in front of each TV, and though it was a Wednesday, already Issei could see a dozen or so of his peers crowded around one console or another, playing video games. Where there wasn't a TV or furniture, Scapegoat Games had large display cabinets, featuring the newest games and gaming devices on the market for sale.

As always, the owner greeted the trio once they had made their way into the store, dressed in the same exact pair of slacks, white dress shirt and vest as always. His mane of brown hair was as untamed as it had been the first day Issei had seen him, and he had the same sardonic grin as always. "Welcome, come on in boys! Always a pleasure to see my favorite customers, what can I get you three today?" He asked, a flourish of his long arms towards the gargantuan display cabinets accompanying his short speech. Issei had been coming to Scapegoat Games almost religiously since the day his mother had taken him there all those years ago, and approximately two years prior he had introduced his two best friends to the shop. Oddly enough, the two of them swore that they had never noticed this particular store in the Kuoh Plaza before, but Issei put that to the back of his mind as the trio engaged in their favorite pastime: gaming.

Matsuda, predictably, went for the same game he had been playing every day for the past year. Loading up Dance Dance Revolution Extreme into the nearby Playstation 2, within seconds the bald teen was tapping his feet rapidly. When the game had first come out nearly a year prior, Motohama and Issei had made fun of the runner for his choice in games, but Matsuda swore by it, stating quite smartly that it helped him train his reflexes and endurance. After a disastrous competition between the three had resulted in Matsuda wiping the floor with his best friends, Issei and Motohama had never complained or made fun of DDR again.

Today, however, Issei was getting rather bored. Matsuda was still playing DDR nearly four hours later, and Motohama was glued to his Gameboy, going through Pokemon Sapphire for the umpteenth time. The other children had long since left, leaving only the trio, and the mysterious owner in the back. A moment later, he left too, citing a mix-up in the store-room as the reason for his temporary departure from the store counter. Now, Issei was certainly a bright and quick-witted young boy, but patience has never been the virtue of the young; to put it simply Issei badly needed something to do.

Looking over the assorted games on the shelves, Issei could feel himself being drawn to one in particular. It was a rather plain cover, a simple black background with a strange looking symbol of a sleeping dragon. The title wasn't much better, simply 'Dragons of Dreams.' Nonetheless, Issei felt a strange pull in his gut, urging him to play the game. The pre-teen opened the cover carefully, peering at the strange cartridge-like device within. It certainly wasn't a Gameboy cartridge, or anything Issei had ever seen before. In fact, it felt strangely heavy, as if it was made of stone or metal as opposed to plastic. The moment Issei made contact with the cartridge, his whole world changed.

**[Congratulations! Welcome to the Dream of Dragons. Please click NEXT.]**

What in the world? Issei was bewildered, staring at the floating screen in front of him. For a moment, he thought that perhaps his mother had used moldy bread by accident, but an errant brush against the very much solid wall of text disabused him of that notion. What the hell was going on? After a moment of hesitation, and a quick glance to see that Matsuda and Motohama were still entranced in their respective games, Issei gingerly tapped against the underlined Next button.

**[Issei Hyoudou - Middle School Student - Level 1]**

That... that was him! And at a rather measly level one? Issei had been engrossed in video games ever since that fateful day that Miki had taken him to Scapegoat Games, so the young boy knew quite clearly that being a level one was certainly nothing to brag about. Crossing his fingers and hoping that this wasn't some insane delusion, Issei whispered out, "Character Screen... Uh, stats... Status?"

**[Loading Status Screen, please be patient...]**  
**[Loading...]**  
**[Status Screen Loaded!] **

What greeted Issei was an insultingly accurate screen of the same blue. Checking again to see that somehow, his two best friends were still totally ignorant of the situation, Issei scanned over his stats, taking in everything as best as the pre-teen could.

**[Name: Issei Hyoudou]**  
**[Title: The Gamer]**  
**[Age: 12]**  
**[Race: Human, ?]**  
**[Level: 1 (EXP:0/100)]**  
**[HP: 350, 25 HP/minute]**  
**[MP: 175, 12.5 MP/minute]**  
**[Description: Issei Hyoudou is a perfectly ordinary 12-year old boy. Born to Miki and Gorou Hyoudou in the middle of a powerful April thunderstorm, he was the third attempt to have a child by the young couple. The Shinto Gods heard their prayers and blessed the Hyoudou family with baby Issei. He is currently a middle school student at Kuoh Middle School, along with his two best friends Matsuda and Motohama. He is the wielder of ? and the current Gamer.]**  
**[Stats]**  
**[STR: 10]**  
**[VIT: 10]**  
**[DEX: 10]**  
**[INT: 10]**  
**[WIS: 10]**  
**[CHA: 10]**  
**[Stat Points: 0]**  
**[Yen: 30,000]**  
**[Buffs:]**  
**[Novice Runner: +1 to DEX and VIT per level]**  
**[Growing Young Boy: +1 to DEX, STR, VIT per level]**  
**[Minor Shinto Blessing: +1 to CHA per level]**  
**[Blessing of the Scapegoat: +1 to INT and WIS per level]**  
**[De-buffs:]**  
**[?: MP and MPR are slashed in half.]**  
**[Passive Skills:]**  
**[Passive/Active Skills:]**  
**[Active Skills:]**

Issei's mouth was agape as he stared at the status window. Before he could truly begin to freak out, or God forbid alert his two friends, he could feel a wave of unnatural calm washing through him, leaving him rational and thinking logically. "Okay, what just happened?"

**[Would you like to view the Help Guide?]**  
**[Yes/No]**

Well, it couldn't possibly get any weirder than this, right? Issei tapped the Yes button softly, watching as the screen washed away yet again, to be replaced by a formidable wall of text.

**[Welcome to the Help Guide! How can we be of assistance?]**

This was insanity. It had to be; there was simply no other explanation for the lazily floating screen of light blue that hovered above Issei's head, seemingly mocking him. Licking bone dry lips and swallowing heavily, Issei whispered out to the screen again. "What... What the hell is happening?"

**[Would you like to view the Tutorial?]**  
**[Yes/No] **

At this, the young boy simply nodded. In for a penny, in for a pound, as his grandfather had been so fond of saying. Shakily, Issei reached out with trembling fingers and pushed the faintly pulsing Yes button.

**[Tutorial Activated! Please wait while the Tutorial loads...]**  
**[Tutorial loading...]**  
**[Tutorial loaded!] **

In moments, Issei's vision was flooded, walls of text popping up in every corner, every nook and cranny of his sight, fighting for dominance to be the first thing the teenager could read. For a moment, and no longer, Issei felt a well of frustration bubble up in his chest, before it too faded away, replaced by an obviously unnatural calm. His fingers still shook and trembled, but the young boy pushed through, and began to push and pull overlapping screens apart, creating enough space between the boxes of text that he could read each one properly.

**[Welcome to the Tutorial! You may access this function at any time.]**  
**[Attributes and Basic Functions: Your attributes determine your strengths and weaknesses. The most common way for your attributes to increase is to gain more levels. Doing this increases all attributes by two points, but training or performing specific tasks will also increase specific attributes. For example, physical conditioning could be used to increase your Strength, Vitality or Dexterity depending on what the workout is. Currently, there are two categories of training: Physical Training, which can increase STR, VIT, or DEX, and Mental Training, which can increase INT, WIS, and CHA. Your basic functions determine your overall health and competence. Each level gives an automatic +2 for STR, VIT, DEX, INT, WIS, and CHA and +12 points to distribute freely.]**

"Alright, that makes sense," Issei mused. "But what do these attributes do in particular?"

**[Hit Points (HP):]**  
**[HP determines the amount of damage or 'hits' you can take before your body fails to function and you essentially die. The more HP you have, the more damage you can dish out and the longer you will survive in this world. Hit Points are calculated through the following formula: Base HP (100) + (Vitality * 25)]**

**[Mana Points (MP):]**  
**[Mana is the life energy of every magical being and is a versatile and powerful form of energy. It is essential to every technique and can be controlled and manipulated to create an effect that would not be possible otherwise. Mana Points are calculated by the following formula: Base MP (100) + (INT * 25)]**

**[Strength (STR):]**  
**[The Strength attribute determines the person's overall physical power. This attribute affects the amount of damage a person can inflict on another with hand-to-hand combat, bladed weapons, or blunt objects. It also affects the amount of weight they can lift, or throw. Strength also affects the rate of HP regeneration. HPR is calculated as 2.5*STR/minute.]**

**[Vitality (VIT):]**  
**[The Vitality attribute determines the person's overall health. This attribute also affects a person's ability to regain health outside of combat and resist specials types of damage from things such as poison, paralysis, burns, etc. Each increase in VIT leads to +25 HP.]**

**[Dexterity (DEX):]**  
**[The Dexterity attribute determines the person's overall movement. This attribute affects a person's accuracy, evasion, speed, and ability to land critical strikes on an opponent in close, mid, and long-range combat. Dexterity also plays a major role in pickpocketing, stealth, use of weaponry and the ability to dual-wield weapons properly.]**

**[Intelligence (INT):]**  
**[The Intelligence attribute determines the person's overall ability to think quickly and innovation. It also affects their ability to learn, memorize, retain information, and determines how smart they are. Each increase in INT leads to +25 MP.]**

**[Wisdom (WIS):]**  
**[The Wisdom attribute determines the person's common sense and perception. Wisdom also allows an individual to make better overall decisions in day-to-day life. Wisdom also affects the rate of MP regeneration. MPR is calculated as 2.5*WIS/minute.]**

**[Charisma (CHA):]**  
**[The Charisma attribute measures a character's force of personality, persuasiveness, personal magnetism, ability to lead, and physical attractiveness. It represents the strength of personality, not merely how others perceive you in a social setting. It can also affect your reputation with others and how easily you can make friends.] **

**[Loading Skills...]**  
**[Loading...]**  
**[Skills Loaded!]**

**[Skills:]**  
**[Passive Skills:]**  
**[Gamer's Mind - Level Max: Allows the user to calmly and rationally think things through. Allows a peaceful state of mind. Grants user an immunity to mind-altering Magic, psychoactive substances and psychological ailments. User can still be affected by mind-altering Magic if used by an opponent 20 levels or more above the user.]**  
**[Gamer's Body - Level Max: Grants a body that allows the user to live real life like the world of a video game. HP and MP are fully restored after sleeping in an owned or rented bed, restored 75% if sleeping in a tent or other makeshift sleeping space, and 50% if sleeping outdoors with some protection from the elements.]**  
**[Passive/Active Skills:]**  
**[Novice Martial Arts - Level 3: A basic martial arts form that teaches one how to punch and kick properly.]-**  
**\- [Grants +3 Strength and Vitality during active combat.]**  
**[Novice Sprinter - Level 3: A basic running form that teaches one how to make use of their legs properly for short sprints.]**  
**\- [Grants a +3 Dexterity and Vitality during active combat.]**  
**[Active Skills:]**  
**[Observe - Level 1: A skill that allows the user to gain information on people, animals, and objects. At higher levels, more information is revealed. Costs 5MP per use.]**  
**[ID Create - Level 1: Allows for the creation of Instant Dungeons.]**  
**\- [ID Create - Null - Level 1: Allows for the creation of a null space.]**  
**\- [ID Create - Zombies - Level 1: Allows for the creation of the Zombies Dungeon. Suggested Level: 1-10]**  
**[ID Escape - Level 1: Allows the user to leave an Instant Dungeon and return to the real world.]**  
**[Novice Academics - Level 3: Allows for the learning of material in a school setting.]**  
**[Novice Cooking - Level 2: Allows for the cooking of basic recipes that can replenish HP/MP and offer temporary stat boosts.]**

"This," Issei rasped out, his mouth suddenly dry in spite of the rational Gamer's Mind preventing from having a full-blown breakdown. "Is so cool." Where did this power come from? And what was with the question marks? What were half of these skills even supposed to mean? Issei wanted to know more, but who could he possibly ask? Matsuda and Motohama hadn't noticed anything, and now that Issei looked more intently at them, he could see that they were frozen absolutely still, as if the world had paused all around him.

**[That would be correct, User. Resuming real world in 3... 2... 1...]**  
**[Real World Resumed!] **

All of a sudden, the world had come back to meet Issei, and all the young boy could do was take a sharp intake of breath and stare, wide-eyed, at his two best friends. Were they in on this too? Only one way to find out. Softly, Issei whispered, "Observe."

**[Name - Matsuda]**  
**[Level - 1 (0/250 XP)]**  
**[Occupation - N/A]**  
**[Title - Middle School Student]**

**[Name - Motohama]**  
**[Level - 1 (0/250 XP)]**  
**[Occupation - N/A]**  
**[Title - Middle School Student]**

That... made sense, Issei supposed. His Observe ability was clearly only a measly level one, so the information he would have gotten from using the ability would most likely be simple, easy to deduce things. The only thing to do about it would be leveling it up, and Issei had never been afraid of hard work.

**[For thinking things through in a rational manner, your Wisdom has gone up by 1!]**

Alright, so that was a thing. Very cool. Trying his best to not look foolish, Issei did his best to use his ability as much as he could. His two friends were clearly quite busy with their own games, and it wasn't terribly difficult to look around, Observing individual items in the shop. There were tables, chairs, counter-tops, and of course, there were games. Many, many games. So many games, in fact, that in the span of a few minutes, Issei managed to get another lovely surprise, in the form of a small ringing noise. Thankfully, only he seemed to hear it, and even more thankfully, his two best friends seemed to not notice the glowing blue screen that popped up in the corner of his eyes.

**[Congratulations! Observe has Leveled Up!]**  
**[Observe Lvl1-Lvl2]**

The second level of Observe didn't seem to change much, as Issei's use of the ability on his friends gave him the same description he had gotten minutes ago. However, his MP, whatever the hell that was, seemed to be shot to hell, and it would take some rest before he was fit to use the ingenious ability again. The young boy looked towards his two friends, who had thankfully wrapped up their games and were packing their bags, and without a word, the trio of middle school students walked back home. An hour later, Issei had said his goodbyes to his friends, eaten a quick dinner with his parents that had, once again, not provided much in terms of Observe-able items, and sprinted up the stairs to his bed, ready to take a nice long nap and hopefully deal with the massive changes in his life later. Before Issei could properly crawl under the covers and turn off his light, yet another screen had popped up.

**[Foreign Presence Detected. Scanning for Foreign Presences...]**  
**[Scanning...]**  
**[Foreign Presence Found! Would you like to integrate the Foreign Presence?]**  
**[Yes/No] **

Not seeing any other option, Issei tapped the Yes button with as much surliness as his tired and cranky 12 year old body could muster. As he did so, he could feel an absolutely massive presence creeping behind him, an otherworldly aura of sheer power and strength that sent the young boy crashing to his knees. Issei craned his neck to the side, turning fully after a moment to take in the sight of an enormous scaly face, with one giant green eye staring deeply at him.

**[Foreign Presence Integrated: Sacred Gear System Unlocked!]**  
**[Sacred Gear: Boosted Gear - Longinus Class Added!]**  
**[Updating System...]**  
**[Updating...]**  
**[System Updated!]**

What the **fuck?!**

* * *

A/N: And that's that! Next chapter: Issei's conversation with Ddraig in much further depth, evading the suspicion of (great^n)Grandpa Az, and a whole bunch of grinding.


	2. Inspirational Speeches (Ch2, pt1)

A/N: Am I on a roll? We shall see. In this chapter: Issei meets a grumpy dragon, a certain drunk crow (with a c, this isn't rwby after all) sniffs the air in suspicion, and the grind begins.

* * *

Far too soon, the world fell away from Issei. Where once he was reclined on his bed, his covers strewn haphazardly over his legs and chest, the young teen found himself surrounded in a sea of black, as far as his eyes could see. There were no structures, no distance or depth to gauge how far the landscape had stretched, and most importantly, he was **not **alone. Issei stared, his mouth agape, at the fiendish vision before him. A scaly monstrosity housing two enormous emerald eyes stared back at him, smoke softly billowing out of nostrils the size of the young boy's head. The ridges above the creature's eyes were as thick as Issei's torso, and the curved, serpentine snout only scant feet away from him looked to be filled with teeth that could tear apart a dozen men with ease. Shakily, Issei managed to stammer out, "O-observe?"

**[Name - Ddraig y Goch]**

**[Level - 275 (Sealed)]**

**[Occupation - Sacred Gear Occupant - Boosted Gear]**

**[Title - Heavenly Dragon of Domination: Additional STR*100 per physical attack, additional INT*100 per magical attack]**

**[Health Points: EX]**

**[Health Point Regeneration: EX HP/M]**

**[Magic Points: EX]**

**[Magic Point Regeneration: EX MP/M]**

This... this was insane! He couldn't even see the beast's Health or Magic! How on Earth was Issei expected to face this creature?

"So... You're my new container, then? You don't look like much." The beast rumbled, its voice like a thunderous boom. Didn't look like much? He was 12 for crying out loud! But... what was this about a container?

"I'm a what?" Issei asked, staring rather dully at the giant head. Said head simply huffed and rumbled a bit more, before retracting, its long neck pulling back as the Heavenly Dragon adjusted its position. Coiling an impossibly long tail around Issei completely, Ddraig y Goch hefted the boy into the air with incredible ease, bringing him at least fifteen or twenty feet into the air and face-to-face with the Dragon yet again. Issei didn't dare to struggle against the grip, though even the terrified 12-year old could tell that he was simply being hoisted, not crushed. It would have been so easy for the massive creature to reduce him to pulp, an errant flexing of the tail being more than enough to crush him into nothingness. And yet, the grip was simply firm, keeping him from slipping. After a moment, Issei realized that this beast was actually keeping him safe, preventing him from falling while bringing him closer to speak to.

"You, boy, are the wielder of the Boosted Gear, the Longinus-class Sacred Gear. I am Ddraig y Goch, the Heavenly Red Dragon of Domination!" The dragon roared out, sending a wave of hot air that blew back Issei's spiky brown locks and coated him in a fine mist of dragon spit. Grimacing a little, the young boy writhed and wriggled, trying to work his way out of the firm and steady grip of Ddraig's tail. After a few seconds, he gave up, his 12 year old body clearly not up to the herculean task.

"What's a Sacred Gear? What's a Longy-nus? What's the Boosted Gear?" Issei rattled off rapid-fire, acknowledging that for the time being, he **definitely** wouldn't be going anywhere. Ddraig looked almost amused at his struggling, slowly setting him back down on the ground. The dragon took another deep breath, thankfully this time without breathing draconic spittle all over its young charge.

"In order, child, a Sacred Gear is a tool bestowed upon you puny little humans by the God of the Bible to protect yourselves from other Supernatural threats. A **Longinus**, not longy-nus, is a particular type of Sacred Ge-"

"Supernatural? Like monsters? So, am I like a Super Sentai now?!" Issei practically squealed, looking at Ddraig with something akin to pure bliss. The dragon simply let out a long-suffering sigh, before speaking again.

"Don't interrupt me, boy." At this, Issei quieted down tremendously quickly, looking straight down at the ground in fear. "As I was saying... A Longinus is the strongest class of Sacred Gears. The Boosted Gear is the Longinus that I have been trapped in for the last several thousand years. Therefore, you are now the wielder of my power."

Issei was still obviously quite lost, understanding perhaps every fifth word in the dragon's rather short speech. "So are you part of the Game?" He finally asked, having exhausted all of his other ideas quickly. Ddraig stared at him perplexedly, tilting his head to the side in questioning. What sort of host was this? "You know, the Game thing-y that I'm in now. Your stats and everything are above your head, y'know."

"Are you mentally ill, boy? Are you seeing things?" Issei clearly did not take well to that, harrumphing and turning away as he pouted the way only a 12 year old can. "Stupid game, stupid dragon, stupid Sacred Gear..." He muttered, before getting a great idea. All of the RPG's he loved to play allowed for the player to add members to their party when they faced a powerful foe! What if he could do that?"

"Hey Ddraig..." Issei started. "Would you like to **join my party**?" At this, Ddraig y Goch's eyes widened, finally seeing the thin blue words appearing in thin air before him. Tapping it gently with his snout, Ddraig acquiesced.

**[Error! Sacred Gear cannot be added to Party!]**

**[Updating System...]**

**[Updating...]**

**[System Updated! Sacred Gear System Integration is now complete!]**

All of a sudden, Ddraig could see everything, having been fully involved in the Game's system. "How interesting..." The massive dragon drawled out, humming as he quickly scrolled through all of his own information. "How interesting indeed. Well, boy, it seems like you're not quite as boring as I thought you would be. We'll speak again soon, of that you can be sure." With those parting words, Issei found himself falling yet again. Before he could curse the giant lizard in his head or the black landscape or the stupid Game that had caused all of this, the young boy found himself back in his body, back in his bed, back in his bedroom in his little house in the suddenly not so safe town of Kuoh, Japan.

**[Congratulations! You have unlocked the Sacred Gear "Boosted Gear!]**

**[Boosted Gear: A mid-tier Longinus-class Sacred Gear, the Boosted Gear houses the spirit of Ddraig y Goch, the Heavenly Red Dragon of Domination.]**

**[Active Skill: Boost Unlocked!]**

**[Boost - Level 1: Allows for the doubling of STR, VIT, and DEX every ten seconds. Current limit: 2 boosts.]**

**[Buff: Draconic Aura Unlocked!]**

**[Draconic Aura - Level 1: Permanent +1 CHA per level, +2 CHA when interacting with Supernatural Women.]**

**[Debuff: Dragon-Slayer Vulnerability Unlocked!]**

**[Dragon-Slayer Vulnerability - Level 1: Permanent 2x damage from Magic, Weapons, or Curses with "Dragon-Slaying" in the title or description.]**

Well, that was certainly something. Dragons, Sacred Gears, and a so-called world of "supernatural" women. Issei's head felt a lot like a well-used punching bag at that moment, so many stray thoughts flying around that the young boy could hardly make sense of anything. Making arguably the smartest decision in his 12 years on the floating rock called Earth, Issei decided to give his entire situation a resounding "Fuck. This." and promptly went to bed.

**[You have rested in a bed for 8 hours! HP and MP are full!]**

There were definitely worse ways to wake up, Issei realized. The sun was shining high in the sky, casting errant rays of light through the half-shut blinds on his window, and the young boy had truly never felt better before. Of course, there were still the millions of questions ping-ponging around in his noggin like missiles, but as far as his physical body went? The teen was full of energy, his whole body relaxed and ready for anything the world could throw at him. He felt damn good waking up today.

As he threw off the covers and got dressed, Issei couldn't help but look at his left arm, where a ruby-red gauntlet and wicked sharp claws resided. That had certainly not been there yesterday, and if the floating blue screen wasn't enough evidence already, he knew now that this was real. None of the previous day had been a case of moldy bread or hallucinogens slipped in his post-workout water bottle, all of this supernatural business was real, and he was now involved in it. Issei clicked his tongue in frustration, waving his much heavier left arm around for a moment. "How do I make this go away?" He muttered to himself.

**{You can simply will it to disappear, boy.}**

That... wasn't the Game. "Uh... Ddraig, right?" The young boy weakly whispered, hoping that there wouldn't be a third voice in his head, fucking with this life.

**{That would be me, yes. I've been doing a lot of thinking last night. I don't really have to sleep, you see. Still prefer to when I can, but it's not necessary. So I sat in the Boosted Gear while you slept last night, and I thought.}**

Oh, that could be interesting. "What'd you think about, Ddraig?" Issei responded, a sliver of fear running up his spine, before being rather ruthlessly squashed by his Gamer's Mind.

**{Well, I've had Hosts before, of course. Dozens, if not hundreds of them, in the long years that I've been locked away. Almost all began as humans, though I've been inside the odd half-Devil and half-Youkai before. Most remained the race they were. Some soared to great heights. Others remained irrelevant their whole lives. What they all had in common, above all else, was a drive. What, exactly, is your drive, boy?}**

Issei stood in silence, having clad himself in the usual sweatpants and pullover that he spent most Sundays in. Back when his best friend Rin was still living in Kuoh, he would occasionally don a white shirt, slacks and tie to go with the Shidou family to Church, but those days had long past. Nowadays, Issei spent as much time in his room playing games as he humanly could, before his mother inevitably dragged him out of his Den of Solitude and into the living room to have meals with her and Gorou, his father. "A... drive? I guess I don't really know, Ddraig. I'm doing pretty well in school, and I've got two great friends, but I guess I don't have any huge goals. I'll go to high-school, and probably college after that, and I'll do my best to get a nicely-paying job. Maybe one day I'll have a family too. Right now, I just really like games, I suppose." He answered, after a minute of deliberation. The young boy sighed, resigned to the fact that his answer probably wouldn't appease the gigantic dragon currently living rent-free in his arm. Ddraig was similarly silent after Issei had responded, and as the minutes stretched onward, the teen began to fear. What a stupid answer! Of course Ddraig would be disappointed at that; how pathetic he was!

**{Be at peace, child. You are still young, and you will have many long years ahead of you. For now, however, allow me to set a goal for you; let me dictate your drive for the short-term.}**

Issei perked up at that, a small hopeful smile adorning his face. "Alright, Ddraig. What do you think my drive should be?"

**{That's quite simple. Survive.}**

For a moment, Issei simply choked, his heart hammering in his chest wildly, before that too was wiped clean by Gamer's Mind. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" He furiously whispered, eyes widened still as he took in the ancient Dragon's words.

**{It is exactly as I stated. Your only goal for the foreseeable future will be to survive. Whether you realize it or not, and frankly whether you wish it were otherwise or not, you now hold a great and terrible power. Many among the Supernatural World would go to great lengths to control or subjugate my power. On my pride as a Dragon, and on yours as a man, we must not allow this to happen! You will grow strong, Issei. Stronger than you could possibly imagine. Strong enough that the stench of Devils in this little backwater will never come to your home.}**

Issei nodded as he listened raptly to the Dragon's words. That was reasonable enough, he supposed; the normal world was already far too big for a 12-year old boy to comprehend, let alone the Supernatural. "Hey Ddraig," he weakly chuckled. "What's that about the, uh, stench of Devils?" Had he heard that right?

**{Ah, yes. Your town is home to more than a few Devils. None of them are terribly strong, but years ago, before you and I had met, I could sense the presence of a much stronger Devil. Her presence has since faded from this earth, and her replacements are dull and weak in comparison. They will not notice you as long as you are wise with your powers, but I am sure that one day your home will be host to powerful Devils yet again. Until that day comes, we will train. Once that day is here, we will be strong, and they will bow before our might. You will be lord over these lands, young Issei. On this, I swear!}**

Well, that was all nice and dandy, but how could he get strong? How strong even was a Devil? What else was out there? Issei posed this to Ddraig, and as the young boy sat, the Heavenly Dragon told him of everything that was hidden from the Human race. He told Issei of the Great War, of the Biblical Factions that had nearly torn apart the world in their struggle for dominance. He told Issei of the Youkai that were native to Japan, of the Pantheons all across the world; all the myths that Issei had read as a child, come to life. He told Issei of the Great Satans that ruled the Underworld, of the Governor General of the Grigori that led the Fallen Angels, of the Seraphs on high that administered over Heaven in the absence of their Heavenly Father. And as he spoke, Issei listened, his Gamer's Mind wiping clear all doubts and fears, taking in everything that Ddraig explained, locking every fact and anecdote into his head. Ddraig was certainly not exaggerating things; Issei needed to be stronger. So much stronger, in fact, that it would be his priority for the next few years. Games would have to be put on hold. Friends were great and deserved to be cherished, but every waking moment of Issei's life had to be spent gaining strength; it was the only way to survive, and to protect his friends and family.

Years down the line, when Issei Hyoudou was a name that the Supernatural World knew well, the young boy would look back on this day as the shift in the paradigm, the first real moment where he was driven to surpass his limits, to break through them so thoroughly that he would be hailed as the greatest being alive. Already, people were starting to notice. Miles away, a certain tall brunette man was hunched over his humble game store. He sniffed experimentally at the air, his senses cutting through the smells and sights of the normal humans that visited his shop. There, by the corner! A rather familiar smell, indeed. There was a Dragon in town, it seemed, and certainly not the surly battle-obsessed dragon he had adopted all those years ago. But, it wasn't all that Azazel could smell. There was something else, something he hadn't sensed in nearly a century and a half, not since he had come to this country in the wake of the Boshin War. Thousands of years of experience had lent him a sixth sense for when trouble was afoot. Things were about to change, Azazel could tell easily enough. Things were about to change dramatically.

* * *

A/N: Short chapter in the afternoon, and a second one to wrap out Chapter 2 this evening! Coming up: Issei begins his training! Issei gets his first quest! Far away in Europe, Rias recruits a cute (definitely female!) dhampir!


	3. Training and Ill Omens (Ch2, pt2)

A/N: Second part of Chapter 2. Issei starts the grind, Azazel starts (very slowly) connecting some dots, and we see what Rias is up to in Europe.

* * *

**Kuoh, 2003**

Training to become the strongest force in Kuoh, as it turned out, involved a whole lot of running around the baseball fields a short distance from Kuoh Middle School. Though Issei couldn't exactly call it stimulating work, the results certainly showed themselves.

**[Quest - Running Start: Successfully Completed!]**

**[Quest - Running Start: Complete 25 laps around the Kuoh Middle School Baseball Fields. Can be completed Daily.]**

**[Quest Reward: 10 EXP]**

**[Quest Failure: 0 EXP]**

**[10 EXP gained! Lvl1-Lvl2: 30/100]**

It had been a rather monotonous, albeit quite tiring, week since that fateful conversation with Ddraig. Since then, Issei had been able to complete the Running Start quest twice already, this being his third successful attempt. 25 laps around the baseball fields certainly wasn't an easy feat for a 12 year old, but several years of being subjected to his friend's insane workouts had made it at least manageable to Issei. The true gain from the boring exercise-cum-quests that Issei had pursued wasn't the experience gained, though that was certainly a welcome benefit. No, that would be the stats gain that Issei had been awarded. Whispering quietly to himself, Issei brought his Character Sheet up with a quick "Stats."

**Name: Issei Hyoudou**

**Title: The Gamer**

**Occupation: Middle School Student**

**Age: 12**

**Race: Human, Dragon**

**Level: 1 (EXP:30/100)**

**HP: 350, 25 HP/minute**

**MP: 175, 12.5 MP/minute**

**Description: Issei Hyoudou is a perfectly ordinary 12-year old boy. Born to Miki and Gorou Hyoudou in the middle of a powerful April thunderstorm, he was the third attempt to have a child by the young couple. The Shinto Gods heard their prayers and blessed the Hyoudou family with baby Issei. He is currently a middle school student at Kuoh Middle School, along with his two best friends Matsuda and Motohama. He is the wielder of Boosted Gear and the current Gamer.**

**Stats**

**STR: 10**

**VIT: 13**

**DEX: 13**

**INT: 10**

**WIS: 10**

**CHA: 10**

**Stat Points: 0**

**Yen: 30,000**

**Buffs**

**Novice Runner: +1 to DEX and VIT per level**

**Growing Young Boy: +1 to DEX, STR, VIT per level**

**Minor Shinto Blessing: +1 to CHA per level**

**Blessing of the Scapegoat: +1 to INT and WIS per level**

**Draconic Aura - Level 1: Permanent +1 CHA per level, +2 CHA when interacting with Supernatural Women.**

**De-buffs**

**Draconic Reserves: Permanent, MP and MPR are slashed in half.**

**Dragon-Slayer Vulnerability - Level 1: Permanent 2x damage from Magic, Weapons, or Curses with "Dragon-Slaying" in the title or description.**

**Passive Skills**

**Gamer's Mind - Level MAX**

**Gamer's Body - Level MAX**

**Passive/Active Skills**

**Novice Martial Arts - Level 3**

**Novice Sprinter - Level 5**

**Active Skills**

**Boost - Level 1**

**Observe - Level 2**

**Novice Academics - Level 3**

**Novice Cooking - Level 2 **

Yes, the three points gained in both Dexterity and Vitality were a welcome boon. Though it wasn't immediately noticeable or anything, Issei certainly felt a bit lighter on his feet, and he had noticed the outline of his developing muscles beginning to grow in clarity. He was certainly not a muscle-bound bodybuilder or anything like that quite yet, but progress was progress after all. Wiping his soaked brow now that the workout was complete, Issei began to head back to his school-bag at a light jog, reaching down and picking up the book-filled backpack with ease. It was time to get home, and preferably take a shower. It didn't matter how strong his so-called Draconic Aura was, he absolutely **stank**.

"Hey Ddraig," Issei said, his headphones wrapped securely around his head now that he was heading home. To any passerby, he was simply using the microphone embedded in said headphones to chat with a contact via his mobile. It was the little things that helped to avoid notice, after all. Certainly wouldn't be a smart idea to broadcast the conversations he had with his surly, scaly tenant to anyone in earshot.

**{Yes, Issei?}**

The dragon's voice was as scratchy and gruff as it had been a week before; Issei was positive that Ddraig would be a chain-smoker if he was human. "I was just wondering, uh, when do you think I'll be... you know, ready to learn some stuff?" The young boy asked. He wasn't scared! It was just very normal and in fact quite wise to not be too brash when speaking to a massive beast that towered over buildings and could reduce whole countries to ash. He was just being prudent here.

**{What did you have in mind?}**

Ddraig's response came only after a few moments of silence, during which Issei's heart **definitely **didn't hammer in his chest like a war-drum. "Well, I was just thinking that maybe I could do some cool stuff... like the stuff you used to do? You know, before you were, uh, in my arm and everything?" It wasn't like Issei wanted to suddenly start slaying monsters and taking over towns, but couldn't he at least learn to fight a little?

**{Ah, I see. You wish to learn combat, is it? Soon. Let's say when your physical skills are all, oh I don't know, at least 15, then I will teach you to fight properly. Do you find this agreeable?}**

Well, no, not really, but Issei certainly wasn't about to mouth off to Ddraig about that. Nodding resolutely, the boy set off back home, determined to build up his Stats as best as he could, and hopefully learn something directly from the Heavenly Dragon Emperor himself. Within five minutes, Issei had left the neighborhood that Kuoh Middle School was comfortably situated in. Within twenty, he was almost on his way home, able to see his house just a few blocks away.

When the young boy reached his doorstep, he swung his backpack from his shoulders around to his chest, fumbling around in the voluminous pockets until he managed to extract his trusty house-keys. At first, Miki had been rather hesitant to give Issei his own set, but a week of whining and wheedling had solved that problem readily enough. Issei was warned, rather sternly in fact, that he was not to be home later than nightfall under any circumstances, and only then had Miki reluctantly given the young boy a black lanyard with a spare house-key attached. As he entered his home, Issei could already smell the lovely scents of Miki's cooking. It looked like they were having salmon tonight, how delightful. The teen took his shoes off at the door, slipping into his favorite pair of Super Sentai sandals and plodded over to a couch, groaning dramatically as he sank into the warm embrace of padded fabric and the copious throw pillows his mother always insisted on scattering across their furniture.

Issei had spent less than ten seconds luxuriating in the feel of not standing on his own two feet before Miki stormed in, a whirl of skirts and her trusty white apron, her face set in a look of absolute fury that could shock Issei into action on the best of days. "What in the world do you think you are doing, young man! You stink! Up to the bathroom, you need a shower now!" Issei's loving and otherwise gentle mother accented her short tirade with a threatening wave of her ever-present wooden spoon, a deadly weapon that the young boy had been victim to on a number of memorable occasions. Even if Ddraig was right about everything and he ended up being the strongest being in Kuoh, Issei was positive that the Spoon of Doom wielded by Miki Hyoudou could end his pitiful existence at any moment.

Issei, being a god-fearing young man and all-around dutiful son, quickly complied, practically leaping off the couch and bounding up the stairs to hop into the shower. There, hopefully, he would be safe from Miki and the Spoon. After a shower that felt simply far too short to the young man, Issei strode back down the stairs to the living room, helping to set the table for when his father arrived and the Hyoudou residence dined together. As an accountant, Gorou was prone to working somewhat long hours, even by Japanese standards, but the Hyoudou family would always come together to eat dinner. It had been one of the few areas where the otherwise meek and kind Miki Hyoudou had put her foot down, demanding that Gorou be home by 7 no matter the consequences if she were to approve his taking of the job he currently held. Even after Issei had been born and expenses had increased, the Hyoudou matriarch had been resolute; they would eat dinner as a family.

Arriving right on time, Gorou strolled through the entrance, taking his shoes off and putting on a pair of (much more respectable and plain) sandals as he swept his wife in a customary hug and peck on the lips that could made Issei groan to this day. Adults were gross! His parents, shockingly enough, simply chuckled at his expense and sat together, dining in a comfortable silence. There weren't often words spoken at this time of day for the Hyoudou residence; the sense of togetherness and family was more than any words could express. When the salmon had been finished and the majority of the dishes were in the dishwasher, Gorou had reclined back in his chair, loosening his tie as he looked fondly at his son and wife. "How's everything been, Issei? I see you've been out running a lot. Are you planning to join the track and field team like your friend Matsuda?"

Issei swallowed the final spoonful of salmon that he had taken, shaking his head in the negative. "Nah, just wanted to exercise a bit. Everything is pretty good at school, but I don't really think any of the sports at Kuoh Middle are for me." His father smiled lightly, clearly proud that his son was making efforts towards staying fit. "No? Why do you say that, Issei?"

To this, Issei furrowed his brow, thinking to himself. This could be an opportunity! "Well, I'm not really into any of the team sports we have, and running is fun but I don't really want to do track and field either. I really wish the Middle School offered martial arts though..." He trailed off, hoping that his father would pick on the rather unsubtle hint.

"Martial arts? Well, we could certainly enroll you at a gym if you'd like! Are you sure that this is what you want to do though? If you want to get into a martial art, you have to stick with it, okay? Your mother and I would hate to have you give up halfway through, after all." Gorou had replied, pulling out his laptop from his briefcase and booting it up. After a few minutes of loading, the Hyoudou patriarch had found a number of local gyms in the area for Issei to scan through.

"I get that, dad. I promise I'll stick to it!" Issei spoke with conviction, a drive to learn how to fight clearly evident. To those that were privy to Issei's reasoning, namely Ddraig, this would have been a slight cause for concern. After all, learning a martial art and learning to fight were clearly two different things. But to Miki and Gorou Hyoudou, they simply saw their son taking initiative in a topic other than video games, and were more than happy to indulge in a healthy habit like attending a gym or dojo.

"That's great to hear, sweetie. I'm sure you'll do very well!" Miki chimed in, clapping her hands together as a beatific smile crossed her face. "Let's look through these gyms, and next week we can check one out, okay?" With that, the family began to scroll through the various websites. In Kuoh, there were thankfully quite a few options. There was a wrestling gym, several dojos for karate, judo, jiu jitsu and even an older boxing gym, though the website for said boxing gym was clearly tailored more towards adults than children.

"Well, I'm not sure which one yet," Issei started. "But I'll be sure to pick one, and we can go visit next week!" The young boy stood from his seat, brushing a few errant crumbs from his lap and running up to his room. Or, he would have, had Miki not fixed him with a patented Miki Hyoudou Death Glare that told him in no uncertain terms to push his seat back in and help clear the kitchen table of the empty bowls and cups remaining. Once **that **was done, however, Issei leaped up the stairs with the awkwardness of a newborn doe (or really any 12 year old boy) and into his room, closing his door shut before literally dancing for joy. He was going to learn how to fight!

Once the totally not embarrassing happy dance was complete, Issei sank into his bed, his arms and legs splayed out haphazardly as he woke up Ddraig from the Dragon's nap. Odd, that dragon was, and so fond of napping when Issei wasn't doing anything productive. Ah well, he was still a damn better teacher than having none would be. "Hey Ddraig..." Issei whispered.

**{Yes, Issei? You showed great initiative in getting your parents to agree to take you to a gym.}**

At this, Issei chuckled quietly, scratching the back of his head abashedly. "Ah, that was nothing, I just thought it would be cool. I was wondering, how should I improve my non-physical stats though?" Ddraig was silent for a few minutes, clearly pondering, before the Heavenly Dragon replied.

**{Well, I think it would be a good idea for you to perhaps practice meditating. A warrior must have a clear mind in addition to a strong body, after all, and the impatience of your youth will make a task like meditation even more important.}**

Issei grimaced for a moment. Meditation sounded boring! Alas, Ddraig had not been proven wrong yet, and Issei was loathe to ignore him. "Alright, so how do I do that?" He asked.

**{It's rather simple, really. Simply sit up from where you are now, and close your eyes. All you need to do is focus on your breathing. Breathe in through your nose, and out through your mouth. Don't bother with any of that 'clearing your thoughts' nonsense, you'll simply find yourself thinking about not thinking. Instead, focus entirely on your breathing, and let your body relax. It may take a few tries, but I have faith that you will get the hang of it.}**

Issei listened raptly, doing as the dragon instructed after he had fixed his posture and taken up a seated position atop his bed. In through his nose, out through his mouth. In through his nose, and out through his mouth. For a few minutes, the only noises heard in Issei's bedroom was the steady breathing of its occupant, everything else falling away as the young boy focused on the slow, calming breaths that he took. When Issei opened his eyes again, he glanced towards the clock. It had been thirty minutes!

**[Congratulations! You have unlocked a new skill!]**

**[Active Skill: Meditation Unlocked!]**

**[Meditation - Level 1: When meditating, MPR is increased by 100%. Costs 5MP to initiate, and 10MP per hour to maintain]**

**[Congratulations! You have gained 1 point in INT!]**

**[INT: 10-11]**

This whole Gamer thing was so cool! Even though his Sacred Gear had made his Mana lower than usual, having Meditation would mean that his recovery rate was as fast as it would normally be; certainly a useful skill.

**{Congratulations, Issei. It appears you have created a new skill to use. Perhaps if you keep this up, you will also see increases in your Intelligence stat?} **

Issei nodded in clear agreement with Ddraig, slipping back into Meditation after a moment to collect himself from the joy of unlocking a new skill. The hours seemed to pass in mere seconds, and the teen opened his eyes again, only to find that the whole night had passed, bringing the rays of sunshine that signaled morning. And it was Monday too! Cursing quietly to himself, Issei immediately stood up, shaking his somewhat cramped arms and legs haphazardly as he pulled his Kuoh Middle School uniform from its hanger and sprinted to the bathroom to shower. Once he had toweled off and gotten dressed, Issei strode downstairs to grab a sandwich for breakfast and his lunchbox, giving his mother a hug as he took off like a rocket, intent to get to school so he could see Matsuda and Motohama again. Before the teen could even make it to the bus stop, another blue screen materialized in his vision.

**[Quest Initiated!]**

**[Quest - Something Wicked This Way Comes: Make it to school on time. Make it home afterwards.]**

**[Bonus Objective: ?]**

**[Quest Reward: 175 EXP, ?]**

**[Bonus Reward: ?]**

**[Quest Failure: Death]**

"Ddraig, what the fuck?" Issei nearly yelled, his eyes widening as he stared in shock at the innocent screen, seemingly mocking his existence with its carefree floating.

**{This... This is worrisome.}**

Yeah, no shit!

* * *

**Romania, 2003**

Elsewhere, far away from Japan in the foothills of Romania, one Rias Gremory found herself in the midst of a warzone. All across the ground laid bodies, mangled and torn. The stench of death was heavy and cloying, laying across the field of corpses like a miasma. The young Pureblood Heiress held a handkerchief to her nose, breathing as delicately as she could to ward off the smell of bleeding bodies and recently soiled bladders. Death was a filthy thing to begin with, and the natural response of the body certainly made it no better. As the Devil strode across the hellish landscape, her skirt thankfully not dragging amidst the muck and filth, she looked around for a cause, some sort of indicator as to why her vacation had ended with this.

After a few minutes of searching, she found the first signs of life, faint though it was. A young girl, barely in her teens if her intuition was correct. She could see the shallow rise and fall of her skinny chest, the way her impossibly pale blonde hair stuck to her forehead, matted with dirt, grime, and likely blood. A rather grievous wound oozed blackened blood across the girl's side, a jagged cut from the bottom of her ribs all the way down to her skinny hips. She was not far for this world, that was certain.

It reminded her so much of Akeno, of Kiba, even of Koneko. So many broken children she had found, and given a home to. Perhaps this one could be the same? Forcing herself to walk closer to the clearly dying girl and ignore the smells that made her want to retch, Rias bent down, taking the dying child's hands in her own. "What's your name?" She whispered to her, carefully squashing the smile that threatened to cross her face when she seemed to respond.

"Ga... Gasper. My name is Gasper Vl... Vladi..." She rasped. Now that she was closer, Rias could see the telltale signs of the supernatural at play. For one, she could see the ears and fangs that denoted a Dhampir, not particularly uncommon in Romania but certainly not a daily sight. More importantly, however, was the fact that during the five or six seconds that the dying girl had introduced herself, Rias had felt time stop, locking her in place before letting her go again. A Sacred Gear then, and certainly not a weak one.

"Gasper... My name is Rias, Rias Gremory. Tell me, would you like to live?"

* * *

A/N: Cliff-hangers! Though we all know what the second one resolves to. Next chapter: Issei confronts his first Supernatural threats, with absolutely zero training! Will he survive? Azazel shows up, and does Azazel shit. Great Red makes a short cameo appearance! Rossweisse is still best girl! That last bit isn't relevant, I'm just staking my claim.


	4. Don't Smoke Trees, Kids (Ch3)

A/N: Issei's first brush with the supernatural and/or a terrifying death. Also some other shit, I guess.

* * *

**Kuoh, 2003**

Issei tightened the straps on his backpack, the waxed canvas stretched taut across his back. He had double checked the laces on his sneakers, tightened his belt around his dark jeans and zipped his jacket up as high as it would go. Every step the young teen would take, he would scan his surroundings, having been on high alert since he had stepped out the doors of his schoolbus and been smacked right in the face with that accursed quest. There hadn't been an option to decline, as he had occasionally done with his daily running quests, so Issei was stuck with this life-or-death scenario for the foreseeable future.

**[Congratulations! You have unlocked a new skill!]**  
**[Passive Skill: Detect Danger Unlocked!]**  
**[Detect Danger - Level 1: You can detect blood-lust, killing intent, and various other overt emotional displays of hatred or future violence directed at your person. Current range: 5 meters]**  
**[Congratulations! You have gained 1 point in WIS!]**  
**[WIS: 10-11]**

Well, that was... somewhat helpful? The skill itself seemed to be rather valuable, and Issei's nerves were clearly the drive behind the Game giving him that particular power, but 5 meters wasn't exactly much use. Issei's line of sight extended past that, at least out in the open as he was. Still, it couldn't hurt to have another signal, he supposed. The walk from his bus stop to Kuoh Middle School was a short one, all things considered. It took the 12-year old perhaps thirty seconds to cross the street from where the bus would park and let out the children attending Kuoh Middle, and into the doors of the school itself. All in all, it was the most nerve-wracking thirty seconds of Issei's young life thus far. Every passerby could be a danger, every twist and turn in the hallways of Kuoh Middle School a potential opening for an enemy to exploit. By the time Issei had arrived in his classroom and put away his backpack, retrieving the notebook and pencils within, even Gamer's Mind hadn't fully wiped clean the paranoia and stress.

The school day served to distract Issei to some small degree from his ever-present potential doom, thankfully. As it turned out, paying attention to the textbooks and lectures from his various teachers had unlocked a number of scholastic Passive skills for the young Gamer.

**[Congratulations! You have unlocked several new skills!]**

**[Passive Skill: Biology Unlocked!]**

**[Biology - Level 3: The study of life on Earth. Additional +1 INT and WIS when conducting biological experiments.]**

**[Passive Skill: Chemistry Unlocked!]**

**[Chemistry - Level 3: The study of the chemicals and chemical processes that make up the universe. Additional +1 INT and WIS when conducting chemical experiments.]**

**[Passive Skill: Mathematics Unlocked!]**

**[Mathematics - Level 6: The study of numbers and equations, ultimately the purest expression of logic. Additional +1 INT and WIS when conducting mathematical exercises or engaging in Human Magic.]**

Math certainly seemed useful enough. Ddraig had told Issei in passing of the Human system of magic, having had a few hosts down the line that had dabbled. Apparently, the entirety of the Magic system for humans relied on complex equations, so if Issei wanted to perform any of the feats that Merlin's followers had accomplished, improving his Mathematics skill would certainly be a priority. On and on the school day went, until Issei finally heard the bell ring, signifying the end of his day and the beginning of his return home. It would be now or never.

Gamer's Mind had seemingly worked itself into overdrive, as Issei felt a cooling sensation run down the back of his neck, relaxing his body and clearing out his head. He was still scared shitless of what was to come, of course, but at least now he could move forward without freezing up in the face of danger. Hopefully, it would be enough. Whispering to his tenant as he boarded the bus heading back to his domicile, Issei sought advice from Ddraig. "Any tips here?" He murmured under his breath, as low as he possibly could. Thankfully, the Heavenly Dragon's response was rather swift.

**{There's a shed by the baseball fields, isn't there? Go there instead, you can at least pick up a bat or something.}**

Issei cursed, drawing the wayward eyes of a few fellow students in questioning. Flushing at the slip-up, he quickly exited the bus before it could take off back to his neighborhood, the teen sprinted over to the familiar diamond-shaped field. It had been a week of coming here after classes, and honestly Issei was growing rather fond of the place. When the baseball team wasn't practicing, it was fairly quiet, and the flat topography of the area made it so that he could feel the wind rushing past him as he sprinted his laps. Now was not the time for reminiscing on workouts, however; there was bloody work to be done.

As surreptitiously as he could, Issei snuck across the bleachers and past the chain-link fencing surrounding the diamond, all the way over to a shadowed corner. There were a few trees here, and Issei had often seen the baseball team relaxing after a practice, leaning up against the small shed and enjoying the shade while they could. The door was locked, but thankfully the window on the far wall was open a hair, allowing Issei to wriggle his way into the dark storage shed with relative ease. Once there, the teen looked around, taking in the various options that he had available to him. There were a whole slew of wooden baseball bats, a few pads and helmets that Issei quickly tossed out for being too heavy, and there in the corner, what could be his salvation.

It looked like a rather ordinary baseball bat, a solid hunk of shined and glistening composite metal measuring a bit under three feet. Adorning the handle was a plain black leather wrap, clearly worn via use. What caught Issei's attention, however, was the faintly pulsing blue screen above the tool.

**[Bamba Bat - Uncommon Blunt Weapon]**

**[Bamba Bat: The practice bat of a former Kuoh Middle School student who went on to become a professional player. This bat possesses the spirit of a samurai, which makes it a formidable force both on the pitch and elsewhere. +5 to STR in combat]**

**[Durability: 25/30]**

**[Damage: 15-20]**

**[Would you like to store this Item in your Inventory?]**

**[Yes/No]**

Issei had an inventory? Well that was useful. Clicking yes, Issei found that the weapon had simply de-materialized, but he could somehow feel that it was now in his head, able to be drawn out with a thought. Regardless, it would be good to have it out in the open so as to not tip off any Supernatural creatures that he was capable of having said 'Inventory.' It was by far the best option available; within minutes Issei had cleared out his backpack of any extra pencils and notebooks, and just barely managed to close the zipper around the protruding handle. For a moment, he felt a pang of regret at essentially stealing from Kuoh Middle School, but the quest was rather serious about one thing. He could die here. Petty theft, especially considering that Issei fully planned to return the item, paled in comparison to meeting some grisly end.

It took a few minutes to shimmy back out of the window, close it, and be on his way out to get home on foot, and the entire time, Issei felt like he was walking on pins and needles. Every brush, every shadowy corner, every random passerby could be a threat. Ddraig had been silent thus far, simply letting Issei know that he could call upon the Boosted Gear if things got truly tricky before going to take a nap. The walk back to his residential neighborhood took about forty-five minutes altogether, and by the time Issei had gotten within a half-mile of his home, he was as tense as he had ever been. It was now or never.

From behind a small copse of trees, Issei finally saw it. The creature looked like a rather plain looking 30-year old, dressed in a rather generic suit and black tie, with a messy fringe of black hair swept carelessly to the side. His smile seemed inviting and his posture was fully relaxed, but the text above its head told Issei a different story entirely.

**[Stray Kodama-obake- Level 7]**

**[Race - Yokai]**

**[Description: A stray Kodama-obake, a shape-shifting Yokai that houses the spirit of a wrongfully felled tree. This Yokai in particular has been removed from its place in Kyoto Yokai society, having endangered the secrecy of ? reign by rampaging and killing a crew of loggers in broad daylight. Hungry, vengeful and near insane with grief, this creature is waiting for a human to ensnare and kill. Will that human be you?]**

**[HP: 250]**

**[MP: 100]**

That could certainly be a problem. Already the creature had noticed him, its smile twisting into something a little more forced, a little more wicked. Issei gulped, picking up his pace slightly as he swung his backpack around to his chest again. The comforting weight of the bat helped him feel a little better, but it was clear that a confrontation was imminent. The Yokai, on the other hand, simply leaned forward as he walked, and all of a sudden, Issei couldn't see him any more. Whirling around, Issei suddenly felt the creature's hands fall on his shoulder, and suddenly, he was elsewhere. The duo reappeared several meters to the left, Issei whipping back to unleash a devastating left hook to the Yokai's nose. There was a muffled 'oof' as the creature was pushed back, and Issei saw the telltale sign of damage done.

**[You have inflicted 10 damage!]**

The Obake snarled, reaching out with a swipe that tore into Issei's shoulder, slicing through the fabric of his clothing and tearing shallow gash marks only a few inches from his collarbone. Issei bit his lip to keep from screaming, jumping back as best as he could and pulling out the baseball bat in a smooth motion. Only once his fingers had tightened around the handle of the makeshift weapon did Issei step forward again, leading with a barely controlled swing that missed the Yokai entirely and unbalanced the teen. The Kodama-obake was quick to capitalize on this, darting in with hands splayed to grab Issei's ankle. The boy went down hard, his head slapping against the ground as his feet were pulled out from under him. Wriggling furiously, Issei tried to get up, the vice-like grip of the manic Yokai far too tight for the teen to succeed. Instead, Issei whipped around from his stomach to his back, swinging the baseball bat one-handed as hard as he could. The result?

**[You have suffered 100 damage!]**

**[Critical Hit! You have inflicted 75 damage!]**

**[Enemy is dazed! Lasts: 5 seconds]**

The Yokai's head looked disgusting, the cavity around one eye completely squashed in, its nose leaking bleed profusely. Issei thought he would be sick, but Gamer's Mind clearly took care of the disgust and nausea, leaving him clear-headed and ready to fight. The most important thing about that head-shot, at least to the young boy currently fighting for his life, was that the Yokai's hands had let go of his ankle, coming up to stem the bleeding and moan piteously as it cradled its head. Moving faster than he had ever done in his life, Issei got to his feet, swinging the bat towards the Obake again with a snarl. Another direct hit, and another message. A second time, and yet another message, before the Yokai leaped back, landing nearly ten meters away from Issei and staring balefully as it regrouped.

**[You have inflicted 15 damage!]**

**[You have inflicted 20 damage!]**

**[Enemy is no longer dazed!]**

"Thought this would be an easy meal..." The creature muttered, its hands flexing and un-flexing seemingly at random. "Guess fucking not." With a shriek, the Yokai brought its hands up, now glowing, as tree roots unfurled and grew before Issei's eyes. One root in particular, at least as thick around as the young boy's wrist, smashed into his chest, knocking the wind out of the teen. Another curled around his arm, squeezing until Issei could feel his bones creak and he let go of the bat. A third wrapped itself around Issei's throat, not crushing him but serving as a reminder that it could. As the boy struggled and tried to worm his way out, the Yokai stepped closer, retrieving a wooden charm from around its neck. Now that Issei could see him more clearly, it was obvious that this creature was nothing like a human. The eyes seemed hollow, and the fingers of his hands seemed more like joints on a doll. Crisscrossing lines intersected at each of the creature's major joints, in fact, and the telltale click-clack of its feet, now bare, stepping on the ground sounded like wood more than flesh and blood. A vengeful tree spirit, indeed.

**[You have suffered 150 damage!]**

**[You are immobilized!]**

**{Wait for it...}**

Issei didn't stop struggling; in fact, he wriggled even harder, his free hand tearing ineffectually at the wooden tendril currently surrounding his throat. The Yokai was only a meter away now, the charm in its hand seeming to glow faintly. Half a meter, then barely inches away from the boy's face, the Yokai brought the charm up to Issei, and before his eyes it seemed to change. What was once a simple octagon carved of knotted wood began to expand, each corner of the pendant pulling itself apart like taut skin, becoming as thin as a sheet of paper and as wide as Issei's face. The Yokai's voice was sickly sweet, almost crooning the boy. "Simply relax, child. Let the mask slip on, and you will have nothing to fear... Simply become one with the earth, and provide nourishment for the forest..."

Issei's eyes widened as the mask grew closer and closer, the corners beginning to sharpen until they too resembled tendrils of wood, floating gently in the air as they approached the skin of his face. Only inches now, and Issei's vision was almost entirely taken up by the paper-thin mask that would spell the end of his life. It was now or never.

**{Now!}**

**[Active Skill - Boost Activated!]**

**[STR, VIT, and DEX doubled!]**

**[Next Boost: 10 seconds; Current Limit: 2 Boosts]**

In a flash, the Boosted Gear had materialized, and Issei had never felt stronger. With an almighty heave, the teen tore away the tendril holding his throat, ducking underneath the wriggling face-mask. As the Yokai's eyes flashed in surprise and displeasure, Issei darted forwards, his smaller frame easily getting within the Obake's guard, and unleashed a vicious uppercut straight to the Yokai's arm. The crack of bone and cartilage could be heard easily enough, and the absolutely bloodcurdling scream from the crazed Kodama-Obake, not to mention the unnatural angle that its arm was bent at, told Issei that his attack had been successful.

**[Critical Hit! You have inflicted 100 damage!]**

**[Enemy is crippled! Right Arm no longer in use!]**

Issei kept as close as possible, not trusting his own ability to face the Yokai at range. As the creature screamed, Issei tackled it to the ground, before being summarily thrown off and onto his own back by a surprise kick from the nearly dead Kodama-Obake.

**[You have suffered 25 damage!]**

**[Active Skill - Boost Activated!]**

**[STR, VIT, and DEX doubled quadrupled!]**

**[Boost Limit achieved; Countdown: 00:01:00 to Reset]**

Before the teen could properly get to his feet, the Yokai had struck again, its fingers splayed as roots curled around the boy once again. This time, they squeezed him tightly, seemingly crushing him in their grasp. Already, Issei could feel his health dropping, the seconds winding down as his health bar decreased. Even a secondary Boost did little to stop the crazed thrashings of the roots controlled by the wounded Yokai.

**[You have suffered 75 damage! Warning! You are critically low on Health!]**

**[You are immobilized!]**

Issei closed his eyes, tears threatening to leak out as he struggled as hard as he possibly could. This wouldn't be the end! It couldn't be! Just before his counter reached zero, the boy could hear a powerful woosh, as if wings were beating close by. A moment later, the roots receded, curling back in on themselves as they shrank back into the ground. It took a few minutes for Issei to stand, exhausted as he was. When the boy was finally able to shakily get to his feet, he stared around the ruined field, eyes agape. The Yokai's body was still, a hole the diameter of Issei's thigh blasted through its chest. There was nobody around, but Issei could have sworn he heard wings, and as he stumbled over to the corpse, exhausted as he was, he could see a single black feather on the ground, laying innocently against the body of the deceased Yokai. "Ddraig... what the fuck... was that?" The boy huffed, falling back down to his knees as he took massive breaths. Gamer's Mind had thankfully dulled the panic and the stress, but physically speaking, Issei was dead tired.

**{Well, well... It looks like we're not alone after all, Issei. Kuoh is home to crows, it seems.}**

Crows? What the hell was that supposed to mean? Issei was simply too exhausted to care, truth be told. Gulping down great mouthfuls of air, the battered teen managed to get back to his feet, wandering around the small field for a few minutes until he found the baseball bat that he had stolen. It wasn't a huge help, truth be told, but that one lucky hit at the beginning of the fight had certainly counted. It was true that Issei was at critically low health, but the Yokai had been quite low as well, at barely 30 HP out of its original 250. It had been a close fight, far too close for either Issei's or Ddraig's comfort. Before heading out, Issei grabbed the rather large feather, putting both it and the bat back in his Inventory for safe-keeping. He would have to investigate this, that was for certain. Being saved was certainly appreciated, but being saved by a stranger he couldn't see was worrying in itself.

**{You should really get home, Issei. A quick rest and you'll be back to normal, not to mention that quest's rewards.}**

It took another ten minutes to get home, and by the time Issei had arrived back to his doorstep, it was nearly dark. Miki had taken one look at his scuffed and torn up uniform, and Issei had found himself victim to a nearly hour-long lecture that was arguably just as bad as almost being beaten to death by a sentient tree spirit. Almost.

As the teen found himself back in his bedroom, he finally got the notifications he was looking for.

**[Quest - Something Wicked This Way Comes: Successfully Completed!]**  
**[Quest - Something Wicked This Way Comes: Make it to school on time. Make it home afterwards.]**  
**[Bonus Objective: Defeat the Yokai instead of running away.]**  
**[Quest Reward: 175 EXP, Skill Book]**  
**[Bonus Reward: +1 to all Physical Stats]**

**[You have leveled up! Lvl1-Lvl2; XP to Lvl3: 105/200]**

**[Please distribute your 12 available stat points.]**

Well, that was certainly nice. Issei took a quick look at his new character sheet, allocating his stats as he saw fit. His MP was fairly useless here, so focusing on his Physical Stats would be of much more help when the time for another fight came.

**Name: Issei Hyoudou**

**Title: The Gamer**

**Occupation: Middle School Student**

**Age: 12**

**Race: Human, Dragon**

**Level: 2 (EXP:105/200)**

**HP: 75/675, 57.5 HP/minute**

**MP: 225/225, 17.5 MP/minute**

**Description: Issei Hyoudou is a perfectly ordinary 12-year old boy. Born to Miki and Gorou Hyoudou in the middle of a powerful April thunderstorm, he was the third attempt to have a child by the young couple. The Shinto Gods heard their prayers and blessed the Hyoudou family with baby Issei. He is currently a middle school student at Kuoh Middle School, along with his two best friends Matsuda and Motohama. He is the wielder of Boosted Gear and the current Gamer.**

**Stats**

**STR: 12+2+1+4=19**

**VIT: 15+2+1+1+4=23**

**DEX: 15+2+1+1+4=23**

**INT: 12+2=14**

**WIS: 12+2=14**

**CHA: 12+2+1=15**

**Stat Points: 0**

**Yen: 30,000**

**Buffs**

**Novice Runner: +1 to DEX and VIT per level**

**Growing Young Boy: +1 to DEX, STR, VIT per level**

**Minor Shinto Blessing: +1 to CHA per level**

**Blessing of the Scapegoat: +1 to INT and WIS per level**

**Draconic Aura - Level 1: Permanent +1 CHA per level, +2 CHA when interacting with Supernatural Women.**

**De-buffs**

**Draconic Reserves: Permanent, MP and MPR are slashed in half.**

**Dragon-Slayer Vulnerability - Level 1: Permanent 2x damage from Magic, Weapons, or Curses with "Dragon-Slaying" in the title or description.**

**Passive Skills**

**Gamer's Mind - Level MAX**

**Gamer's Body - Level MAX**

**Biology - Level 3**

**Chemistry - Level 3**

**Math - Level 6**

**Passive/Active Skills**

**Novice Martial Arts - Level 3**

**Novice Sprinter - Level 5**

**Active Skills**

**Boost - Level 1**

**Observe - Level 2**

**Novice Academics - Level 3**

**Novice Cooking - Level 2**

The boost in overall Health was a huge boon, and the higher stats had Issei feeling a lot better, tired though he was. Now, what was this about a Skill Book? Shortly before he passed out from the sheer exhaustion, Issei quickly opened the rather plain black book that had been deposited from... somewhere, on his lap. As his eyes closed and sleep overtook him, Issei just barely saw the final words on the screen.

**[Congratulations! You have unlocked a new skill!]**  
**[Active Skill: Mana Missile Unlocked!]**  
**[Mana Missile - Level 1: You can unleash a bolt of pure magical power. Costs 50 MP to cast; current range is 15 meters.]**

**[Damage: 15-20]**

Well, that was nice enough. Worth almost dying for? No, not really. But still kind of cool.

* * *

A/N: And that's that! Sorry I couldn't work in the Great Red cameo like I wanted to, but I think it'll serve better a couple chapters down the line. In about four or five chapters, there'll be a time-skip of about three years by the way, so it'll be about two years before canon by the time we hit ~30k words. As always, please read and review! Let me know if I fucked up the math somewhere, and any suggestions you guys have are always welcome!

As always, I do my best to address user reviews via PM, and guest reviews at the end of the chapter, so here's the guest reviews:

Sceptical Review says:

"So you have abandoned the asmodeus story or what?"

No, no I have not! I'm just focusing on this story, you can expect a new chapter of A^4 before December for sure though!

look2019 says:

"Good chapter!"

Thank you very much! I'm glad you enjoyed.


	5. Classic Protagonist Training (Ch4, pt1)

A/N: No real excuses as to why I'm late, just been a real saggy piece of shit lately and didn't write. Got into RWBY a bunch, then realized I only liked the setting and the waifus and that post-Monty Rooster Teeth actually sucks dick at writing a cohesive show, so I've basically just been reading fanfic in hopes of finding halfway decent non-yuri smut instead. Anyways, here's the first part of this chapter. Hope you enjoy, and second one will be out tomorrow to make up for how itty bitty this is. They will all be uploaded as one chapter over at FFN. On with the show! As always, guest reviews are addressed at the bottom A/N.

* * *

Issei was a rather smart teen. Now, that wasn't to say he was a genius, or any sort of savant, and certainly his grades were only on the better side of average, but the boy seemed to have something in spades that he felt his classmates, the adults in his life, and practically everybody else he knew seemed to lack. Namely, Issei had a modicum of common sense. It was this very same common sense, in fact, that had led Issei to a rather shaded copse of trees just out of town. Two days had passed since the youth's initial interaction with the Supernatural, and Issei was feeling rather pent up about the whole ordeal. While it was true that he had survived the ordeal, that was only due to the strange feathered savior that he had yet to meet. Another item on the list of things to do, a list that seemed to grow larger by the day. Was this how adults felt all the time? Well, no, normal adults probably didn't have to deal with sentient dragons renting out their arms, or wrathful tree spirits accosting them on their way home.

Regardless, Issei was about ready to burst, and the trees surrounding him, for no reason other than their proximity and perhaps a tiny resemblance to a certain yokai, would face his wrath, in the form of training of course. He wasn't a sadist and he **certainly **wasn't afraid of trees, and anybody that said otherwise could eat a splinter-filled Yokai dick. Said wrath came in the form of a Magic Missile, the first real spell that Issei had learned. The boy lined up his arms in front of him, taking a loose and comfortable stance with his feet shoulder-width apart and his hips facing straight towards his target. Issei breathed in, letting the ambient noise of his surroundings fall away and focusing purely on the steady in and out of his thin chest. There was a well in the pit of his stomach where he visualized his mana, and it took a moment's concentration to draw from that, focusing his magical energy in an outwards display that took form as a lazily spinning oblong of light blue in front of his arms. With a grunt of exertion and a hop step forwards, Issei **pushed**, and the Magic Missile shot off with a low whistling, impacting against the solid oak tree in a shower of bark and dust.

Issei let his arms drop slowly, gazing intently at the results of his work. Once the bark dust had settled, he could see where the bolt of magic energy had hit, a crater of pulverized wood and broken shards at least a fist deep into the sturdy wood. That certainly looked promising. The description of the spell had specified that Magic Missile inflicted between 15 and 20 damage on average, which wasn't much, but if Issei knew one thing, it was that spells could be leveled up, either dealing more damage or evolving to more powerful variants. The best way to level up any spell? Repetition.

Issei was many things, but he certainly wasn't afraid of hard work. What seemed only like moments but was in fact three hours passed by, Issei taking two minutes between each Magic Missile fired to recuperate his rather pitiful Mana reserves. The Boosted Gear was great for a number of things, but the MP reduction did make for rather difficult training when it came to spells. By the time Issei had finished his training for the day, Magic Missile had increased in level four times, lending him a small but appreciated boost in damage, as well as a slight decrease in cost.

**[Mana Missile - Level 5: You can unleash a bolt of pure magical power. Costs 45 MP to cast; current range is 15 meters.]**  
**[Damage: 25-30]**  
**[Congratulations! You have gained 2 points in INT!]**  
**[INT: 14-16]**

With his magical training finished, Issei took a seat, simply luxuriating in the softness of the grass and the calm of nature now that he wasn't tossing around magical blasts and destroying shrubbery. "Hey Ddraig," the teen whispered.

**{What is it, Issei?}**

Issei reached out, a slightly shaking and very tired hand reaching out to undo the clasp on his waxed canvas backpack and retrieve a water bottle. Taking greedy gulps, the teen drank nearly half the container before turning back to his partner. "You think I could come up with skills or something? I kind of need something for defense, that tree thing really fucked me up, huh?" He chuckled to himself rather mirthlessly, memories of his brush with death still rather fresh in his mind. He wasn't dumb; the stories Ddraig told him painted a very clear picture of his relative strength in the Supernatural world. Having overwhelming firepower was nice and it certainly sounded cool, but Issei rather liked living. The solution was simple: he needed defensive capabilities to keep him from getting instantly killed by anything worth considering among the Supernatural, and ways to escape so that he could run from the fights that he couldn't defend himself against. Survival was vastly more important than having a flashy attack at this point, and though it irked him to admit it like it would any teenager, Issei wasn't stupid enough to put his life at risk just to show off.

**{While I do not know much of human magic, we dragons would often rely on the strength of our scales to defend us from attacks, both physical and magical. Perhaps you could mimic that?}**

While Issei knew he didn't want to start growing scales anytime soon, the idea had merit, and was worth trying. After a few minutes spent simply basking in the pleasing weather and the soft grass, Issei stood again. The young teen closed his eyes, drawing from the core in his stomach, feeling that it was once again full. He imagined a layer of protection over his skin, not thick enough to restrict his motion but durable enough to withstand at least physical trauma. Magical defenses could come later. After a few minutes of simply swirling his Mana around his body, gently coaxing it out of his core to hang over his frame like a second skin, Issei was rewarded with another notification.

**[Congratulations! You have unlocked a new skill!]**  
**[Passive/Active Skill: Reinforcement Unlocked!]**  
**[Reinforcement - Level 1: Via an application of Mana, you have veiled your body in a coat of magic, protecting you from physical attacks. Offers a -5 reduction on all physical attacks while active. Costs 20MP/minute to maintain.]**

"Fuck yes!" Issei yelled, pumping his fist in the air to celebrate. This could certainly be of use. Feeling the elation of a job well done, the young Boosted Gear wielder focused inwards again, drawing his Mana over himself like a shroud, activating the Reinforcement skill. Given his MP regeneration, he could maintain Reinforcement over himself for up to three hours before his MP ran dry, assuming he didn't use any other MP skills. It didn't seem to impede him at all, something the young boy tested rather thoroughly as he ran around the ruined clearing, cartwheeling and jumping all over. If he had to compare it to anything, Issei would say it felt like a second layer of skin, something that he didn't notice at all. Three hours of constant usage would certainly make a large dent towards leveling up the skill, and hopefully it would progress to a point where he would be able to hold it indefinitely, offering the teen a much-needed defense against whatever other creatures lay in waiting.

**{Congratulations, Issei. You've done well creating this skill; I'm sure it will be put to use sooner rather than later. However, I think it is time you went home. The sun is nearly down, after all.}**

With a muffled curse at his lack of attention to the time, Issei sped off, racing home as fast as he could. Screw a Yokai, his mom would beat his ass if he came home late!

A few minutes later, Issei was nearly to his home, panting in exertion as he slowed from the dead sprint he had maintained the whole route. By the time he was at the door, the brunette teen had regained his breath somewhat, kicking off his shoes as he entered the Hyoudou household and putting down his bag. Miki glanced fondly at the boy, before wrinkling her nose in disgust at the smell of sweat and grass that had now permeated the home. A glint in her eye that promised unspeakable horrors, she addressed her beloved and horribly smelly son. "Issei, sweetheart?"

"Yeah mom?" He grunted in reply, peeling out of his thin jacket and nearly tossing it on the living room couch before he caught her gaze. Gulping rather loudly, the Boosted Gear wielder thought better of his choice and kept the stinking garment in hand. Miki's gaze lessened somewhat, the angelic smile on her face still sharply at odds with her eyes. "I think you need a shower, honey. I think you need to go upstairs and take a shower right now, okay?" She asked, her stare boring holes into Issei. The boy simply nodded, turning woodenly before he made a mad dash up the stairs and blockaded himself inside the bathroom. Sure, Yokai were scary, and Issei was sure Devils and Fallen Angels and Dragons would be worse, but mothers? They didn't have **shit **on Miki Hyoudou.

A shower and dinner later, Issei sat on his bed, the Boosted Gear activated and out. "Hey Ddraig?"

**{Yes, Issei?}**

"I think it's time we really start training. Tomorrow, we're going to get some more skills, and we're going to get our Reinforcement up a bunch, and then I'm going to try out the ID. What do you think?"

**{Truly, nothing could make me happier, partner.}**

Issei slept, and he dreamed of dragons, massive and crimson.

* * *

**Elsewhere in Kuoh, 2003**

Azazel leaned back into his chair, swirling a rocks glass full of Scotch in one hand. The other held loosely to an almost comically thick cigar, the ashen end still smoking slightly. The Governor General was back at his home in Kuoh after a long day managing the game-store, and he wanted nothing more than to kick back and relax. Of course, the events of two days prior had kept him from doing any sort of kicking, let alone backwards, and the less said of relaxation the better. All in all, Azazel was stressed. Of course, that generally wouldn't be cause for concern. Being in charge of managing the most fractured of the Three Great Factions, as well as the busy life of an inventor always kept Azazel to a certain minimum of stress. It was truly a wonder his lovely multicolored mane of hair hadn't yet gone gray, regardless of what that jealous old coot Baraqiel had to say about dyes and treatments. This was all natural, thank you very much!

No, the reason for Azazel's stress, for once, had nothing to do with leading a cohort of Heaven's rejects, nor did it have to do with yet another failed experiment with Artificial Sacred Gears. Those stresses were always there, to be fair, but they weren't weighing heavily on the Grigori leader this night. Tonight, Azazel was rather stressed for a singular reason. A singular, teenage, brunette, and unmistakably draconic reason. "What the hell is that boy thinking..." He drawled, taking a sip of the altogether far-too-expensive liquor in his glass. Normally he would have savored the taste, a lovely gift from his old drinking friend Radegast of the Slavic Pantheon. Tonight, he could hardly taste the stuff, and the cigar that Tezcatlipoca had gifted him centuries ago was like ash in his mouth for all the good it did.

Azazel already had one bratty Heavenly Dragon as a surrogate son, and now it seemed the other was a resident of his vacation spot. And of course, because Azazel's Father clearly hated him and was playing sick jokes on him from the grave, the boy was of Miki's line. "Just my fucking luck..."

* * *

**Kuoh, 2003**

**[You have slept in a bed! HP and MP have been fully restored.]**

Issei woke at the crack of dawn, idly swiping away the notification as he wiped the scum and muck from the corners of his eyes. It was the work of a few moments to spring fluidly to a standing position from his bed, taking soft steps towards the bathroom to wash up for the day. Within a half hour he had showered and dressed, donning a thick hoodie and track pants, lacing his sneakers as he grabbed a small sandwich and a bottle of water from the dining room table. "I'll be out at the park today!" He called out to his mother, Miki chuckling to herself as she pulled him in for a totally unappreciated hug and kiss before the teen managed to wriggle his way out of her grasp. As he sprinted out the door, he could just barely hear his mother call out to him. "Be back by dark, dear!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know mom..." He muttered, transitioning into a comfortable jog as he made his way to the same copse of trees that he had spent the previous day practicing Magic Missile at. "Ddraig, what's on the list for today?" The Heavenly Dragon was slow to respond, a yawn sounding oddly like shifting gravel emanating from the Boosted Gear.

**{Ah, good morning to you as well, partner. In short, you need a few more skills before I feel comfortable letting you into any sort of dangerous situation. Let's say... two more offensive skills, and at least one active defensive skill.}**

**[Quest Initiated!]**

**[Quest - Proper Preparation Prev... you know the rest: Create one defensive and two offensive skills before you enter an Instant Dungeon.]**

**[Bonus Objective: Create additional skills before noon.]**

**[Quest Reward: Three new skills that might save your sorry ass, 150 EXP.]**

**[Bonus Reward: 50 EXP per additional skill.]**

**[Quest Failure: You'll probably die in your first dungeon sortie, dumbass.]**

Well, that was a rather biting description. Issei huffed, crossing his arms as he stared cockeyed at the screen, before swiping it away with a silent acceptance. "Alright Ddraig, I guess you can come up with quests now, so that's new. What are you thinking we do?"

**{You've already taken a step towards emulating dragons in your abilities. Why not continue with this trend?}**

Issei cocked an eyebrow at the rather short response, before letting his arms drop down to his side as he realized that Ddraig wasn't going to give him much more than that. Regardless, it was a start, and Issei would do with it what he could. What did dragons attack with? Well, they had fire of course, but Issei was pretty sure he wasn't ready to turn into a portable flamethrower anytime soon. What else? "Hey Ddraig... you probably fought with your claws a lot, right? How about something like that?"

**{That'll do.}**

The teen grinned, the corners of his lips turning upwards as he took a ready stance in front of one of the few remaining trees. Keeping it on all during the previous day had leveled up his Reinforcement skill four times, allowing for him to keep it active at all times without draining his MP, though his MPR would be decreased substantially. "Reinforcement!"

**[Passive/Active Skill: Reinforcement]**

**[Reinforcement - Level 5: Via an application of Mana, you have veiled your body in a coat of magic, protecting you from physical attacks. Offers a -10 reduction on all physical attacks while active. Costs 15MP/minute to maintain.]**

With Reinforcement at its current level, Issei could keep it up indefinitely and still maintain an MPR of 3.75 mana per minute, taking a few minutes over an hour to go from empty to full. Issei had decided to keep it up at all times, not only giving him a much-needed passive defense but also providing a way to always level a skill that could save his life. Sure, it wouldn't be as quick to level anymore, and Issei was sure that after a certain point it'd be days or weeks between each tangible gain, but it was always better to get into the habit early rather than later.

Now that he was once again draped in the protective aura, Issei reached inwards again, drawing from his pool of mana. Already, he could feel it trickling outwards from what he visualized as a core outwards into his skin, permeating the air around him to form the Reinforcement, but he instead focused on diverting a small stream of it to his hands in particular. Dragons had claws that could rend stone and tear down structures, not to mention blasting right through magical defenses. Issei didn't have any of that; he had ten very human, very fleshy fingers that he was decidedly not in a hurry to break. So, if he didn't have claws, he would simply make them.

The mana was slow, sluggish even, but it came to his call all the same. A shimmering pale blue light extended an inch past the tips of each finger, coating his hands from midway up the palm all the way outwards. They looked rough, the edges of each 'claw' hazy and smoky, as if half-formed, but it was certainly a promising start.

**[Congratulations! You have unlocked a new skill!]**

**[Active Skill: Dragon's Claws Unlocked!]**

**[Dragon's Claws - Level 1: You can shroud both of your hands in mana reminiscent of the claws of a great beast, to increase cutting and slashing power for one minute. Costs 25 MP to cast.]**

**[Damage: 15-20]**

Similar to Magic Missile, it was somewhat weak to begin with, albeit not nearly as costly. Training would certainly fix that. Given his MPR, he could cast it every 7 minutes and still keep his MP at full. Now, he had at least one close-range option; it was time to move towards something a bit more defensive. He had just the idea, but testing out was another thing entirely."Hey Ddraig..."

**{Yes?}**

Issei gulped. "I'm about to do something, uh, pretty stupid. Don't judge okay?" Before the Heavenly Dragon could fully respond, Issei leaped forwards, crossing his arms in front of him as he ran full tilt towards the rather thick tree trunk. At the last instance, he shoved as much mana as he could draw on a moment's notice in front of him, the boy's thin arms glowing more strongly than they ever had. Making contact with the tree was like a clap of thunder, Issei's body bouncing back with an almost comical springing noise. He landed harshly, heels digging into the dirt to stop his momentum. It wasn't quite enough, however, and the young teen went tumbling ass over teakettle and rolling to a stop with a pained grunt. Ddraig's raucous laughter nearly drowned out the welcomed ding of a skill acquired, though Issei tried not to pay that too much mind.

**[Congratulations! You have unlocked a new skill!]**

**[Active Skill: Bounce-Back Unlocked!]**

**[Bounce-Back - Level 1: By creating a pliable pillow of mana in front of your body, you can deflect and absorb kinetic force from physical attacks. This force is redirected through your body in a substantially less harmful manner, sending you bouncing backwards from the point of contact. Reduces damage of physical attacks by half, and pushes the user in the opposite direction by half the original damage in meters. Costs 100 MP to cast.]**

**[Congratulations! You have unlocked a new skill!]**

**[Passive Skill: Pain Tolerance Unlocked!]**

**[Pain Tolerance - Level 1: Passively reduces damage from physical attacks by 1.]**

So far it was his most costly skill, but it filled two very important boxes for Issei. Namely, the skill reduced damage, and it gave him distance from his attackers. Against close-range combatants, it could prove invaluable. Ddraig's chuckling at his (second) intimate encounter with a tree aside, it could prove to be incredibly useful. The Pain Tolerance passive was welcome, if somewhat unsurprising. Issei had been getting into too many physical scuffles for comfort anyhow, a passive skill that beefed up his defenses was definitely needed. "Hardy har har, laugh it up Ddraig. Got me a skill, didn't it?" He spat, getting up and dusting his pants, thankfully still intact and free of scuffs from his impromptu somersault. Mom would beat his ass harder than any skill could defend from if he came back with his clothes ruined.

**{For a boy on his own with no one to defend from, I suppose I can't complain about the results. Do try to not smash into any trees, though. Your brain is rattled enough as it is, what with being a 12 year old.}**

Issei, as was becoming custom by this point, promptly ignored his soul-bound tenant, taking a few deep breaths instead as he waited for his MP to regenerate completely. That was two skills down, and one for his extra goal if the Game counted his new passive. Now, time for a second offensive ability. The boy was a fan of shonen anime, as were most of his cohorts, and of course Drag-So Ball stood out above the rest. Already, gears were turning in Issei's head faster than they ever had. Could he really do it? Could he recreate Goku's famous technique? Of course, there was only way to find out. Issei widened his stance, putting one foot in front of the other and dropping low. He brought his hands together, palms open with wrists touching as he pulled his shoulders back. He would either make history, or look like a complete and utter dumb-ass in the woods.

Now that his Mana was back to full and he could concentrate, Issei pulled, funneling as much mana as he could possibly get, until the teen felt like every last drop of his reservoirs were pooled in a blinding ball a few inches from his hands. He had to tighten it. If it wasn't sufficiently concentrated, the attack could blow up in his hands, and it certainly wouldn't go anywhere. He had to direct it. If it wasn't aimed properly, he'd end up wasting all of his Mana for nothing, and wait to try it again. Finally, he had to expel it as hard as possible, so that it would have some real range. His options so far were close- or medium-range; he needed a long range attack now more than ever.

Issei exhaled, pushed forward, and promptly fell back down on his ass again, as the world went white, again. The noise was rather minimal for what he had caused, a sort of low humming that peaked in frequency once it made contact with his target, but the dust and debris was vastly more than the boy expected. It took a few minutes of coughing and swiping away at the errant dust for Issei to see properly, but once he did the results were magnificent.

A hole the diameter of Issei's entire damn torso had been punched clean through the largest tree in the clearing, and within seconds a deafening crack signaled the failure of its structural integrity. The top half of the tree, at least six meters in height, had simply plummeted, toppling as the trunk could no longer hold itself together. Issei gasped and panted, feeling more empty and tired than he had in a long time, even moreso than the fight against the Yokai that had nearly killed him. This attack was monstrously powerful, but its cost was just as great.

**[Congratulations! You have unlocked a new skill!]**

**[Active Skill: Mana Beam Unlocked!]**

**[Mana Wave - Level 1: By creating a highly condensed beam of Mana and firing it, you have unlocked the first step towards world peace: devastating firepower and the will to use it. Costs 250 MP to cast; current range is 50 meters.]**

**[Damage: 100-125]**

**[Congratulations! For shamelessly ripping off other source material (read: using your resources) you have gained 1 INT and 1 WIS!]**

**[INT:16-17]**

**[WIS:15-16]**

The aptly named Mana Beam had ripped out nearly every drop of Mana that Issei had; in fact, had Issei not gained the small boost in INT that he had, he would be sitting at nothing, completely empty. While a total lack of mana probably, and this was a very stressed probably, wouldn't kill him, it still wasn't something he wanted to face the consequences of. On the other hand, it was strong enough to have two-shotted the Kodama-obake, which certainly would have come in handy a few days prior.

Issei simply sat there, leaning back as his narrow chest took in great heaving gulps; the boy felt like he had run a marathon on stilts. "How's... How's that... for a dragon's attack... huh, Ddraig?" He wheezed out, dropping his Reinforcement so he could regenerate his Mana in just shy of 15 minutes as opposed to 50. Ddraig didn't verbally respond, but the chuckle was enough, and Issei could already imagine the proud look on his face in the wake of such destruction.

**{Now this, I can appreciate. You're well on your way to becoming a true Dragon, young Issei... For a whelp, anyhow.}**

Issei, as was tradition, ignored the Heavenly Dragon's last bit of snark and focused on the praise instead. One step closer was one step closer, regardless of the size of said step. As the boy had finally gained his breath, he checked the time, glancing quickly at the small plain wristwatch that he had taken with him. "11:45, huh? I think I've got enough time for one or two more, what do you say Ddraig?" He huffed. The Heavenly Dragon simply snorted in response, the question barely worth an answer. Fifteen minutes left? Of course! That was plenty of time, and Issei needed all that he could get, the both of them knew that. The weather was lovely, a brisk morning with the sun blazing in the sky and a mild breeze ruffling the leaves on what few trees were left standing in the copse that Issei had taken to training in. All in all, a day that simply couldn't be wasted.

The teen stood fluidly, both his health and his mana standing as sturdy as they did every morning. He had passive and active defensive skills that covered his whole body, but what about something more localized? Something closer to a shield in nature? Issei focused again, drawing his mana to one arm with an ease that simply would not have occurred after a day of practice under normal circumstances. Of course, with the Gamer abilities, nearly anything was possible. The mana pooled comfortably around his arm in a sort of mist, and it was the work of a thought to harden it, solidifying into a blazing blue hexagon that covered from his bicep down to a hand-span past his knuckles and four hand-spans at its widest. Issei experimented with it, shifting the blindingly bright shield in front of him and twisting his wrist around to move it. Surprisingly, it took only a few slight motions, a flick of his wrist at most, to rotate the shield to nearly any position that he wanted. In time, Issei posited that it could simply move via a thought. Thankfully, it only seemed to be unbearably bright when viewed from the front, and when Issei held it in front of him, he could even see, albeit through a blueish tint, to the outside. A shield that would blind his opponents and not impede his vision? Truly, it would be a blessing.

**[Congratulations! You have unlocked a new skill!]**

**[Active Skill: Mana Shield Unlocked!]**

**[Mana Shield- Level 1: By hardening your mana within a localized outside frame, you have created a shield that can defend against all sorts of physical attacks, both in close quarters and at range. Offers a -25 reduction on all physical attacks while active. Costs 50 MP to activate, dissipates after either soaking 250 damage or ten attacks, whichever comes first.]**

And just in time, too! Issei's watch rang out as the hour neared noon, signifying the end of the mission, as well as Issei's training. Now, time to reap the benefits, and jump headfirst into either eternal glory or an incredibly embarrassing death.

**[Quest - Proper Preparation Prev... you know the rest: Successfully Completed!]**

**[Quest - Proper Preparation Prev... you know the rest: Create one defensive and two offensive skills before you enter an Instant Dungeon.]**

**[Bonus Objective: Create additional skills before noon.]**

**[Quest Reward: 150 EXP.]**

**[Bonus Reward: 50 x 2 = 100 EXP.]**

**[You have leveled up! Lvl2-Lvl3; XP to Lvl4: 155/300]**

**[Please distribute your 12 available stat points.]**

With his passives and the additional +2 to each stat per level, Issei's INT was up to 20, with his VIT and DEX far in the lead at 27 each. STR was comfortably in the middle at 22, and WIS and CHA were still at his lowest at 19. With 12 available points, Issei simply evened out his statistics somewhat, before pulling his Status up for a final once-over.

**Name: Issei Hyoudou**

**Title: The Gamer**

**Occupation: Middle School Student**

**Age: 12**

**Race: Human, Dragon**

**Level: 3 (EXP:155/300)**

**HP: 775/775, 67.5 HP/minute**

**MP: 362.5/362.5, 26.25 MP/minute**

**Description: Issei Hyoudou is a perfectly ordinary 12-year old boy. Born to Miki and Gorou Hyoudou in the middle of a powerful April thunderstorm, he was the third attempt to have a child by the young couple. The Shinto Gods heard their prayers and blessed the Hyoudou family with baby Issei. He is currently a middle school student at Kuoh Middle School, along with his two best friends Matsuda and Motohama. He is the wielder of Boosted Gear and the current Gamer.**

**Stats**

**STR: 22+3=25**

**VIT: 27**

**DEX: 27**

**INT: 20+5=25**

**WIS: 19+2=21**

**CHA: 19+2=21**

**Stat Points: 0**

**Yen: 30,000**

**Buffs**

**Novice Runner: +1 to DEX and VIT per level**

**Growing Young Boy: +1 to DEX, STR, VIT per level**

**Minor Shinto Blessing: +1 to CHA per level**

**Blessing of the Scapegoat: +1 to INT and WIS per level**

**Draconic Aura - Level 1: Permanent +1 CHA per level, +2 CHA when interacting with Supernatural Women.**

**De-buffs**

**Draconic Reserves: Permanent, MP and MPR are slashed in half.**

**Dragon-Slayer Vulnerability - Level 1: Permanent 2x damage from Magic, Weapons, or Curses with "Dragon-Slaying" in the title or description.**

**Passive Skills**

**Gamer's Mind - Level MAX**

**Gamer's Body - Level MAX**

**Pain Tolerance - Level 1**

**Passive/Active Skills**

**Novice Martial Arts - Level 3**

**Novice Sprinter - Level 5**

**Reinforcement - Level 5**

**Active Skills**

**Boost - Level 1**

**Observe - Level 3**

**ID Create - Level 1**

** ID Create - Null**

**ID Create - Zombies**

**ID Escape - Level 1**

**Novice Academics - Level 3**

**Novice Cooking - Level 2**

**Mana Missile - Level 5**

**Dragon's Claws - Level 1**

**Bounce-Back - Level 1**

**Mana Beam - Level 1**

**Mana Shield - Level 1**

"Alright Ddraig, I'm ready." Issei said, simply tightening the laces on his sneakers. "ID Create - Zombies."

**{Let's go, Partner!}**

It was time, alright.

* * *

A/N: Second part of this tomorrow! First and second IDs, a nice fat timeskip where we cover some other IDs (they're going to serve as mostly training grounds for Issei, just for getting his level up and polishing his skills) and the meeting with Big Tiddy Mommy Fox GF!

As always, please read and review.

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